USB ADSL Modem vs. PCI ADSL Modem

[guido45]

Hi,
I am currently using a USB ADSL modem to connect to my ISP which is fine. However, I am aware that USB places a 10-15% overhead on my processor (a lowly XP1800+) so I was wondering what overhead, if any, an internal PCI ADSL modem would create?
Would it be worth spending some money on some new kit as they seem to be fairly inexpensive at the moment?

thanks for any info!

 

[kestrel1]

I wouldn't have thought it would be worth the effort.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[guido45]

I see where you're coming from. From a purely technical point of view though, is there any cpu overhead from using PCI devices?

 

[kestrel1]

There is a certain ammount of overhead with anything attached to the PC, be it through USB or PCI.
I would like to hazzard a guess as to what percentage, but I would imagine that it would be similar to the USB. The CPU should only be used when the appliance is asking to communicate with it.
Glad you could see my point though. I wasn't being sarcastic, so I hope you don't think I was, but it is Friday & it has been a long week.

 

[ceh4702]

Being a PCI device does not necessarily mean a heavy load on the processor. For instance their are Regular modems that relied heavily on the processor and there were similar modems that relied on their own hardware. The difference was the cost. For $80.00 you could get a hardware modem and for $18.00 or so you could buy one that relied mostly on the system processor.

Why they want to make all these ADSL modems to run off of USB is a wonder to me. Ethernet would be a much better interface.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[kestrel1]

I agree with ceh4702, an ethernet connection would be a much better solution.

 

[cdogg]

Yes, an external modem that uses the ethernet interface is much more pratical. It makes it easier to share the connection with other PC's and/or add a router to the configuration for some added security.


~cdogg
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